Suitable caliber for Grizz

[wildmanoutdoors]

The lightweight is a compromise. Your getting a light gun for sure. But they are limited on how heavy, and powerful of ammo you can run safely. I almost bought the 329PD, but after reading up, I went the Alaskan route shooting +P+ ammo.

is this for real?
i really doubt youre gonna damage the gun running a few hundred hot 300gr loads through it over its life span. its not like its a range pistol shooting 10k rounds...
i have put about 150 305gr buffalo bore through my wifes without a hiccup.
[/quote

Read buffalo bullets warnings on the +p+ ammo. Not a smith made rated to withstand its pressure. Like I said above....I run the +p+.....

305 grn maybe. But not what I run.
https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=54

[jess]

I have killed two black bears with a 45 acp!!!  any big bore pistol will work.. The problem most people miss more shots than hits!

[Birddogman]

The question should be, how many Grizzly have been killed with a more common carry gunlike a 45 acp? 
I have hunted and hiked in Grizzly country (libby, MT. and yaak) and all I carried was a .38....Most encounters can be avoided, but those that can't can end up poorly with spray or a pistol.  At lease with a pistol you have more time and distance in your favor as well as noise.  Bear spray you have "30 ft" accuracy, but it is more like 15' and in the wind it is horribly ineffective.  I would rather scare or kill a bear at a greater distance than to gamble on a can of spray at 15'  JMO

[Labs07]

This is a interesting thread but I would like to know how many of you have killed a charging griz with your handgun?  Seems to me that we all can speculate with how we "think" it would go down and say that we could stop that bear but I believe in reality all of us would be s****** in our pants and would be so scared we could not shoot accurately enough to stop the bear effectively.  This is not "buck fever".   For me I know I do not practice shooting at things running at me at 20 to 30 mph wanting to kill me while I am under duress. 
I think that bear spray and shotgun alternating slugs and buckshot would be my weapons of choice.  I hunt Wyoming every year for Elk and see a bear just about every year so I give them a wide birth and go about my business and have not had any difficulties.  I live in montana for years and saw many bears there as well and never had any problems but did have one bear follow me out of the woods after a deer hunt.  That was not fun but I died not have any issues.

[SGTDuffman]

I posted a link up in reply #7 that accounted for all bear attacks from 1889 to 2009 where gun were used. There were 444 people, 357 bears (black, brown, and polar), and 269 close encounters with bear. Bears inflicted injuries in 151 of the  encounters, and killed 17 people.

Aggressive bears were deterred or killed 84% of the time with handguns, and 76% of the time with long guns. People with and without firearms suffered the same rates of injury.

Between 1985 (when sprays first started appearing) and 2006 there were 83 close encounters involving 156 people. In all the incidents involving spray, there were 3 people injured, and none killed. They deterred attacks a bit more than 98% of the time.

You gotta make your decision, but if the choice for me came down to hitting a bear in the head while its running at me 30mph, with the target bobbing left and right, I think I'd take the cloud of spray for him to run through.

If you've ever had pepper spray or CS in your face, you'd know how unpleasant it is. If you think about a bears much more sensitive sense of smell, it's probably that much more unpleasant for them. It works for skunks, it'll work for you.

Bears go the other way when you blind them, just like people and everything else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWnACum4SJs

Pit bulls don't care for it either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsgvUohhpqc

[MikeWalking]

 

Now consider Bear Spray is 8x hotter than OC.  I've been hit in the face with Bear Spray, thank God for the eye ware.  It stung so bad the CS I got hosed with in training was like a Cold remedy.

[hardcorecarnivore]

Both is better.  My choice is a 4" Redhawk with a 340gr Buffalo Bore but I would definitely read the warning on the box as mentioned.  I agree that bullet choice is very important but accessability is something to consider too.  I picked up a Diamond D Custom Leather-Guides Choice holster and this has become my favorite combonation all the way around.  I came within 20 yards of a cinnamon around a blind trail corner last fall.  Although I never had a shot as the bear ran straight away, I came to full draw noticeably faster than my hunting partner with his .460 from his hip. I would recommend the holster with a 6 round reload (larger calibers are limited to 5) to anyone and they make a nice Beer Slinger too (beer belt holster).

I highly recommend visiting this site...the Guides Choice video will automatically upload.
 
http://www.diamonddcustomleather.com/Diamond_D_Custom_Leather.php

[link]

Both for sure. When the bear spray runs out, you are going to feel better having that 44 in your hand. The wind has to be blowing right to them for the spray to be effective IMO. Even the slightest swirling, or side wind disperses the spray into a light mist that is not very effective. Don't let anyone or any 'study' tell you that when a bear gets the slightest bit of spray in its face, it will run off. Not entirely true. Carry Both!